Saturday, October 31, 2015

++Tired of blasting Hillary, Maureen Dowd says that Jeb missed the last two elections. First his brother proved muscular and then President Obama proved diffident and the Tea Party rose up with its volcanic rage. Maureen says that Jeb is playing old 1990s good government music when the caravan has moved on. ++The Bush campaign says he is not in a vegetative state. Others have already written his autopsy but the Bush campaign still says we have the most money and the "best" organization,although that remains to be seen. ++Donors asked for an improvement in poll numbers after the debate to reassure them.

++Governor John Kasich tried to channel "normal" during the debate and he spoke at length about the war on drugs, which he favors--among the many other wars.++Roger Stone was quick out of the box to say that he,Stone fired Kasich from the Reagan campaign because he sold drugs to younger staffers.++People forget how many stoners and coke heads were in they conservative movement at that time. And just for your information, JEB was my brother-in-law's dealer at Andover.They were both on the tennis team.

++Hillary Clinton is to be endorsed today by the Longshoremen's Union. ACFSME,the AFT and the NEA have already endorsed her. Which says something about the Sanders' campaign.++Last night Rachel Maddow did a segment on Marco Rubio having the worst record of any Senator on casting votes. That's not all,he also has the worst record for attending committee hearings and intelligence briefings. Rachel pointed out that Rubio while being majority leader in the Florida legislature skipped out on the major vote for the state's economy in order to watch a Florida Marlins'game. ++The Sun Sentinel came back after the debate to say that Rubio didn't address their request to resign. Rubio had said that he laughed at the popper because they were just repeating Democratic talking points. Turns out as the Sun-Sentinel reminded their readers they had endorsed Rubio in 2010 and Mitt Romney in 2012.++President Obama may have gone down the rabbit hole by ordering less than 50 Special Operations forces to Syria to work with the Kurds. The Kurds had told the United States they only wanted arms and their goal is to consolidate control over the Kurdish portions of the country and not attack ISIS' capital. This marks the 140th country where we have on-going special operations. This lunacy has to stop if we can ever have a sane debate on foreign policy in this country.++It should be clear by now Hillary Clinton is a hawk,a much smarter hawk than any Republicans. She supported President Obama's decision.++The Democratic Left has been throwing everything they can at Hillary --from the archives of the Democratic Leadership Council to her statement she was opened to extended the age requirement for Social Security. The more gnarly attacks were from the LGBT community on whether her remarks on the Rachel Maddow interview were true. Buzzfeed documented how they were not. ++For some on the Left,Hillary's lack of purity bothers them. This raises my concerns about the practicality of the Left as we are confronted enormous forces of reaction.++My last observation is that if you want a great presidential election,then you should root for the Donald against Bernie Sanders. But don't think America's Better Angels will rise from the dead. ++I'm not sure Black Lives Matter disrupting both rallies of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders wins friends and helps defeat enemies. BLM has managed to secure the support of white liberals and churches but it risks everything by engaging in these tactics which fuel the Right and alienate sympathetic white supporters.++Isn't it curious that we have not seen a Republican poll since the debate?++The GOP presidential campaigns are gathering in Washington to beat up on Rinse Penis for his management of the debate schedule. Rinse cancelled the February debate with NBC and Telemundo because CNBC had been unfair in asking tougher questions on the candidates. ++I find that all very strange. This was the network that started the Teabaggers and the moderators were at least two known conservatives. As Harry Truman said,"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."++Daylight Savings Time Ends tonight. So my depression starts and usually lasts until March.++Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 30, 2015

++she refers to the Bush campaign in the past tense saying he never had a broad base in the party and has never been a national figure. She argues that question was raised about Walker, now it is time to raise it about Bush. He doesn't like the rough and tumble of politics and has only been a state figure. He believes he should be better known because he's from a national political family. But it is not to be.++Harry Etten at Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight argues along a similar line saying that the problem with Bush's campaign is ,in effect, Jeb himself. His campaign can't make voters like him any better. Etten points out that JEB!'s favorables sink the further he campaigns. He's at Rand Paul levels now.++Ed Kilgore, while playing the best hits of Grace Slick today,points out that the leaked memo about Rubio made a revealing statement about Jeb's Iowa campaign. Only 1,200 supporters is bad enough but Ed points out that they could only get 7 volunteers from 70,000 calls in a state where you must have organization.++Jeb! says he feels fantastic and that his campaign is the best thing for someone like himself to grow intellectually,spiritually and morally. A Far cry from his I "have cooler things to do."++But by mid-afternoon the campaign's CO was fired.

++Before retiring I received an e-mail from the Campaign for Liberty,Ron Paul's libertarian fund-raising arm to call my Senator in support of Rand Paul,Ted Cruz and Mike Lee who were going to filibuster the budget deal. I thought adding Ted Cruz to their letter may tell you about where the libertarians till go next after Rand Paul drops out.++Mitch McConnell was going to hold the vote after midnight to minimize the damage of the filibusters from speaking. The bill was voted on at 3am.++Whatever it's fault the bill means there will be no more faux crises on the debt ceiling until the next president and that there will be no more government shutdowns during President Obama's remaining days in office. ++One of the benefits of this is that the system has a degree of certainty for the first time since the Democrats controlled congress, Something I am sure the markets will internalize. ++The post-9/11 mentality of the GOP has been to perpetrate the sense among the American people that there should be something always to be fearful about. Whether your a government employee or an average citizen,you have to be on pins and needles about government functions will exist from quarter to quarter. ++Throughout the GOP campaign wee are told Washington doesn't work. A superb way to take people's mind off the bleak period when Wall Street and the bankers didn't work and that the private sector was barely functioning. ++The GOP obstructionism of Barack Obama was meant to enforce the message that government doesn't work so elect us because we know government shouldn't exist except for the military. ++I worry that this mentality will pervade the general election. And we will go backwards into the swamp.

++At Jeb!'s Houston meeting of donors he presented a 102 page memo outlining the dirt his campaign found on Marco Rubio. The items ran from his personal finances to his billionaire supporter who hired his wife to run his charities. ++US NEWS and World Report had the document and the pitch that JEB!had for the donors. This included new ads and an outline of his ad campaign for January leading into New Hampshire. His internal polls show him tied for third place in New Hampshire. ++His internal memo shows only 1,200 Iowa supporters after thousands of phone calls. His campaign estimates he will get 18% in the Caucus but gave little indication of how he is to do this.++His internal polling found that GOP primary voters are vastly more concerned about security than the economy.++His ads had one optimistic view of JEB saying that "progressive leftists" in Washington don't know how large this country is. He spliced in several images of Obama graffiti and Obama saying that these policies have been a failure. Compared to what?++Jeb says his campaign is not the walking dead. Or is this leak the signs of it?

++Nate Silver said he didn't want to believe this so early but Jeb is toast. His team last night ranked him the lowest of the debaters and the endorsements have been drying up for over a month. Jeb!'s donors are talking about a "death spiral" that if the Bush campaign doesn't do something drastic will seep into other quarters.

++Bloomberg obtained a memo from the Clinton campaign that they have secured commitments from over 500 super delegates to the Democratic Convention. Two days ago, there hard been a story that Bill had been tasked to whip these delegates. I guess he had been successful.

++Politico said that Rubio's comeback to JEB! that "Someone told you to attack me because it would do you good" neutralized JEB!.++They also claim that Frank Luntz with his focus group said that Rubio scored the only 90% when he said," The Democrats have a real SuperPac that is called mainstream media." ++The Ted Cruz attack on the moderators was pre scripted and recited word for word from previous attacks on moderators.++Politico downplayed Trump's performance and said it was all Rubio and Cruz.

++Josh thought JEB! got the better of Rubio on his absenteeism but then seemed to take a nap. He felt that Rubio was weak milk and his answers were too forced. The Donald,he said, did just fine and Carson seemed almost coherent. The big Loser was JEB!. He didn't give his donors the type of breakaway night he needed or they needed. He thought John Kasich's answers were coherent and that he knows what he talking about. In my opinion,Kasich came across as too manic. One blogger liken him to Rodney Dangerfield.++Marshall thought CNBC did a terrible job managing the debate. Reince Preibus thought so too and almost JEB!'s manager got into an argument with the producer off camera.++Josh noted that JEB! was one of those who stayed around for comments and admitted he was frustrated after saying he wasn't. JEB! went on about all the reasons he was frustrated--a sign of a doomed candidate.

++Nate Silver group over at FiveThirtyEight felt that Rubio and Cruz were standouts. A minor voice was that Carly Fiorina who looked like Newt's wife came across as polished. Big loser--Jeb with the less time of everyone and a low energy performance.++Drudge's online poll had the winner as Trump with 70%,Cruz with 13% and Rubio with 6.17%. Christie got .84%,Kasich .8% and the loser JEB! .4%.++Since I did not visually see it because it was behind the paywall,I relied on Ed Kilgore of the Washington Monthly, Joan McCarter of DailyKos and the Huffington Post bloggers.++Jeb and Rubio went at it and I thought Rubio's answers were too robotic and yes, he sweated alot. The moderators took after Rubio for his personal finances which would be a general election issue. Jeb went after his attendance record in the Senate and defended the Sun-Sentinel about Rubio should quit. Rubio may have gotten the better of Jeb when he referred to John McCain's awful record when he ran. Jeb missed his "I know John McCain and you are not John McCain" line.++Rand Paul would float in and out of the discussion and mostly on obscure points like the Federal Reserve and reforming Social Security. Most of what he said I didn't understand the relevance.++There was very little war-making in this debate except that JEB! gratuitously defended W to no reaction.++Dr. Carson sounded drugged and spilled out nonsense on healthcare and other topics like same sex marriage.++John Kasich had alot of time and was as overwrought as his earlier comments. The Donald got the zinger in,reminding everyone of Kasich's relationship to Lehman Brothers. He followed up with Kasich getting lucky with tracking.

++Chris Christie appeared at the end to defend the police and mention he would have prosecuted the bankers --fat chance. Christie was peppier than JEB! but it is unclear how turning up late in the debate helps him.++Christie was first asked questions about Social Security which he lied about. Nothing needs to be done until 2034. This is a bugaboo for this blog since the early part of the Obama administration.++Ed Kilgore noted how anti-government the whole field was and by the end was sickened by it.++Carly Fiorina had to defend her atrocious tenure at Hewlett-Packard by citing the recession, inflation and anything you could ask for. She went out of her way to blast President Obama and Hillary Clinton as bad for women. She came out against having a minimum wage,any government involvement in drug pricing,and for trimming the tax code to three pages.++Nate Silver's crowd believed that Ted Cruz came with his A game and won the crowd with his Newt attacks on the moderators. Eric Ericksson announced that the moderators of CNBC were leftists, which is absurd.++Everyone took potshots at socialism. Carly Fiorina tried to explain how any government regulations leads to socialism and crony capitalism.++Yes, Mike Huckabee showed up supporting cures for a variety of diseases and said he had been the only one who fought the Clinton machine. He was referring to have defeated a candidate endorsed by Bill Clinton for governor of Arkansas.++The whole field seemed to endorse the war on drugs as Kasich mentioned the heroin epidemic in his state and --cough--New Hampshire. Kasich tried to explain how he had capitalized on Clinton's economic success without mentioning it.++MSNBC touted Marco Rubio's success tonight. I guess as the establishment choice du jour.I thought most of the discussion was so obscure that audiences just watched for buzzwords. Rubio tried to get wonky on immigration but he lost me. Christie scored against Jeb! when Jeb! wanted Fantasy Football regulated.Only at the end did someone mention Planned Parenthood. The surprising thin of the debate were the mentions of the poor and poverty. The Middle class was left out.So far no one stands out as top tier presidential contender. I could do with alot less Jesus. Ted Cruz tried to defend his father as returning to his family after Bible classes.

++All of them are for smaller federal government. Lindsey says you can't have economic security unless you have national security and we depend on our military. President Obama is awful because there are terrorists around the world in greater numbers than ever before ready to strike at the United States.++All of them are for lowering taxes. Rick Santorum goes into his tax credit programs for the least well off. Lindsey admits that without social security most seniors would live in poverty. He offers to do less with his benefits to help others. He urges the young to do the same.++Bobby Jindal thinks the new budget deal stinks and that it isn't a matter of accepting the deal or closing down the government. He says that people are fed up with Washington because politicians make these promises to save money but don't deliver like he did in Louisiana.++George Pataki says an outsider must win the Republican nomination because the game in Washington is so corrupt and rigged.++Oh my.

++I don't know what to say about the JV debate with the Santelli,Mr. TeaBag Man and Larery Kudlow as moderators. The Dailykos has a blow by blow but Jesus, Lindsey Graham is scared of everyone. ISIS really will kill us all. As Fox News announced today, Black Lives Matter will join forces with ISIS. We're doomed. The reason is that our Navy is smaller than at anytime since 1915. The ole' Romney argument and we don't have enough swords. Lindsey wants to spend at least another $55 billion on defense. ++Lindsey asks a burning question about today's world,"Would Putin be in the Ukraine if Ronald Reagan Were President? " Great question, huh. Lindsey kept referring to Russia as the Soviet Union.++To Lindsey's credit he did accept Climate change and said he had been briefed by climate scientists when he visited Alaska. But he said we can affect it without destroying our economy.++Marvelous George Pataki said he didn't want to bomb anyone just start a cyberwar with China. Pataki also acknowledged climate change. He said that Hillary's emails are already in the hands of terrorists.++Rick Santorum aped Bill O'Reilly's book that Jesus was really, really against taxes. ",,,Orbison sang for the lonely, I just want you only…"++Bobby "Vishnu" Jindal said he would raise taxes but only after telling everyone. He says he will adopt for the federal government the type of economic policies he did for Louisiana. Oh myyy.+++I'll catch up with the lunacy afterwards. Why are these guys still around? Combined they poll about 1.5%

++90 days out from the Iowa Caucus--factor in the holidays and football--we are there. One of the "establishment" politicians needs a break out night. They are languishing in single digits, except for Rubio and JEB!--and even they aren't registering in Iowa. ++John Kasich went Howard Beale yesterday by saying "It's all crazy. Where is the conservative movement." Kasich has done a massive ad buy in New Hampshire and has only reached about 8% there. Kasich went on to trash every "idea" thrown out in the race so far.++Ms Lindsey is just flabbergasted that someone like Ben Carson is beating him. Actually everyone except George Pataki is beating him. I don't understand why he is still in the game.++Soon to be former Governor Bobby Jindal is complaining that his failure to make the adult debates is hurting his media time. ++Even the Donald was complaining on Morning Joe that the Iowa polls are hurting him." How could you do that,Iowa?"++The "smart" money if there is such a thing in GOP politics says that Rubio will take down JEB! and Cruz picks up the nut vote. ++JEB! manager is now calling Marco Rubio "the Obama of The GOP". "We gambled on Obama and what did that get us?" While Jeb has a proven track record of governance. ++Rubio's team is arguing that he's the anti-JEB and not an old fogey,although all his policy positions are old fogey. He wants to take on Putin and Castro. No abortions under any condition, even the life of the mother. Keep our military expansion.++All the candidates agree that President Obama is the worst President in history. All candidates agree Obamacare is a job-killing program, costing taxpayers billions. All candidates agree we should Drill,Baby, Drill. All candidates want to defund Planned Parenthood. (Remember when they all wanted to defund Sesame Street?).++So you have a conundrum. Marco Rubio says he is missing all the votes in the Senate because he is annoyed at Senate procedure and thinks being Senator is a waste of time. JEB! says that he has a lot of cool things to do if he isn't President. Ted Cruz wants to be President to shut down the government.++Since all three of these guys don't want to govern, why are they running for President? ++The GOP establishment is afraid that over 50% of primary voters favor people who have never been in government. Gee, and their candidates hate government. So why shouldn't primary voters want the Donald? ++Tonight will be the death throes of Chris Christie,maybe Rand Paul and I hope Bobby Jindal.++For all the beltway chatter that Marco Rubio is sucking up all the Koch Brothers' money,conservatives are remarking that he is not in great financial shape. JEB! assured his donors with Poppi around that he is just being prudent by cutting staff and making those who wanted to stick around work as volunteers. Donors have said "That sounds like the campaign is in a death spiral". But then again Obamacare has been in a death spiral since it was passed.++The Iowa Caucus is not particularly meaningful. You have had such successful Presidents as Pat Robertson,Pat Buchanan and Rick Santorum win. The reason is that the once sensible state has gone bats hit with the evangelical vote. That's why a Ben Carson can win. ++New Hampshire is Do or Die for people like Jeb,Christie and Kasich. Some say that the Donald's success in New Hampshire is the result of an infection from Boston. The rougher language and more strident tone of the debate is a result of Boston politics. Interesting theory. But Pat Buchanan did alright in New Hampshire and the state was supposed to become the libertarian heaven, which accounts for the present day divide between Democrats and right-wing Republicans.++This state should be where Rand Paul makes his bid . But I have seen that his father's network is fund-raising on more obscure DC-related issues and none that have been embraced openly by Rand. They have turned off on Rand as not libertarian enough.++Mike Huckabee explains why he is not dropping out because there is time to organize for the Iowa Caucus. Time is slipping away--fast.++For the rest of Americans,it seems to me that this debate should reveal some semblance of a desire to govern. Which means someone has to put forward ideas--even if wrong--about policy. So far, we know all Republicans are for war even though they are not good at it. The Republicans do believe now more than ever we have to get rid of Social Security and Medicare--and Obamacare. Republicans also believe the tax code should benefit the wealthy and corporations. Maybe American voters will suffer from amnesia and not remember the disastrous policies that were enacted by Thom Franks' Wrecking Crew. ++If you want to know what austerity economics is look no farther than Kansas. Governor Sam Brownback has a stunning 16% approval rating, despite having been re-elected. Then go south to Jindal's Louisiana where he goes out with about the same approval rating. Which mirror the Americans view of Congress. ++It will be interesting to see whether any candidates speak about other ethnic groups. JEB's favorable rating among Hispanics is 26%, Rubio's is 23%. The Party has written off Hispanics and African-Americans. So depress the vote is the answer.++They still have to win white women. How defunding Planned Parenthood,eliminating abortion as an option, and denying equal pay wins the women vote will be interesting. ++Fox News ran on their Facebook Page a Reuters computer projection that Republicans win this year's Presidential election because the voters hate President Obama so much. Don't bet on it.

++John Boehner wants to clear the decks for Paul Ryan so that the Freedom Caucus and others don't destroy his speakership, Today we see that Boehner is back at the old little "Grand Bargain" to pass a two year appropriations bill and raise the debt ceiling before he leaves. ++Again President Obama is under pressure because Boehner and the GOP want him to cut Medicare benefits and Social Security Disability. It's not clear that this is the final outcome just as Democrats screamed that Obama was going to sell out Social Security and Medicare the last time the two men negotiated. ++But President Obama may be weary of these endless fights and the GOP wants to avoid shutting down the government because they know in a presidential election year this would be negative PR.++President Obama and the Democrats have to be on guard because the House Republicans have a bill to repeal Obamacare through reconciliation, which Kevin McCarthy alluded to on his ill-fated Hannity interview. The Democrats could not filibuster this in the Senate but it would have a fast track that even President Obama could not veto. ++Right now it is Senate Republicans screwing up the deal. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz believe the reconciliation "repeal" doesn't repeal enough of Obamacare and they along with Rand Paul and Mike Lee are preventing Mitch McConnell from obtaining this political goal. ++Let's hope they fail because on November 1 new enrollees start the next round of Obamacare. The premiums will be up 7.5% this year for medium level plans and President Obama is still hawking the $100 a year plan. ++If President Obama can preserve Obamacare and secured a two year budget, then he is home free.

++Hillary Clinton proposed creating a bank with private sector assistance to deal with our massive lack of investment in the infrastructure. The proposal is very similar to John Kerry's proposal at the beginning of the Obama Administration but that proposal died in the Senate. It is an idea that had wide support from Labor and the American Chamber of Commerce.

++Business Insider reports that the Saudis are burning up so much cash in both their infrastructure and footing foreign wars that with such low oil prices they will run out of cash in five years.++The report which was prepared by the IMF says the same is true of the Gulf States.++Topping this was the new report that by 2100 the whole Persian Gulf area will be uninhabitable.++So you want to go to war again there? It's so bad you can't even argue the area will exist in a few years.

++Obama muses over a common culture and the public good and what a good life is. President Obama talked to Marilynne about the fear she writes about in her most recent essay. She muses about how certain candidacies this cycle feeds on this fear. Both talk about citizenship and how do you accept someone as a citizen if your fear him or her. Obama learns more from novels because they talk about the "greys" in the world and convey empathy. Marilynne zings Obama on competition not healthy as a basis of an economic system. Obama talks about Hamilton as a symbol of our cultural vibrancy. Marilynne remembers when a presidency was something to be achieved and was an accomplishment. Obama fears novels are fading,she says that our literatures is bursting that you're not finding our new authors. ++Wonderful conversation, Read it!

Sunday, October 25, 2015

++ You may have been wondering how Dr. Oliver Sacks could be writing as he was dying from terminal cancer. The two lengthy New York Times op-eds were astounding for a man in his condition. Now he leaves us with his last book Gratitude.++Patti Smith surprised me with her wonderful memoir Just Kids and repeats her magic with M Street, which had been the focus both of a New York Book Review article and a portrait of Patti in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. M Street takes us to her favorite haunts as well as a side trips to French Guyana to collect rocks from Devil's Island to give but later put on Jean Genet grave. From her hideaway on Rockaway Beach Patti Smith weaves together the literary influences on her throughout the memories of her life with her late husband and children.

++The Donald then went on about Carson being a Seventh-Day Adventist and why Carson should lead evangelicals. George The Steph tried to make it like The Donald was accusing Dr. Ben of not being a Christian. The Imperial Post said that the Donald went far over line in questioning Carson's Seven Day Adventism, which is pretty freaky and thinks we are in the end times. Some Adventists believe should not vote or participate in government.

++The Donald says he will lay off Jeb! because he's home with his Mommy and Daddy.++The Donald says Carson can't do the things he can.++Carson likened abortion to slavery and said he would be overjoyed if Roe v. Wade is overturned.++Marco Rubio aka Shortpants says the Donald don't know what he is talking about.++Chris Christie got booted out of the "quiet" car on Amtrak, while slurping a Smoothie.++Chris Christie says the reasons why the lawyers investigating him didn't take notes was because they knew the public would want to see them.++The GOP is still pressuring Rand Paul to spend more time running for re-election as Senator than for President.++The Donald said about JEB!" If you can't run your campaign, you can't run the country."++Diaper Dave Vitter managed to make it into the finals for the Governor of Louisiana.

++Coming after her failed prediction that Joe Biden would run, Maureen today goes after Hillary as playing the martyr par excellence at the hearing and not showing much concern for Ambassador Stevens.++Ross Douhat who reminds us that he rightfully predicted Mitt Romney as the GOP nominee in 2012 when no one else did now predicts---drumroll--Marco Rubio. He thinks his turnabout on immigration policy is only an inconvenient problem with the base. The Donald says Rubio sweats like a pig.++JEB! reminds us he has alot of "cool things he could do rather than be President". The whole family is bunkered down in Houston this weekend to figure out what's wrong with his campaign and how to turn it around. John Sunnunu says he doesn't understand the GOP electorate anymore. "It doesn't respond to the same things as the past."++Katy Perry in a Hillary Logo dress wooed the Iowa crowd and Bill gave a barn-burner of a speech about his wife. The Jefferson-Jackson dinner highlighted all three Democratic hopefuls.++The Guardian printed a nice color photo of Hillary's Alexandria's Rally for Hillary with our governor TMac. ++Univision was kicked out of a Donald rally in Florida and a pro-immigrant protestor was beaten up.++This week we can look forward to the Third GOP debate. Yippee!++I recommend the New Yorker piece on Gloria Steinem ,especially the sections on the different generations of feminists and their differences. I agree with Gloria against the opinions of the younger set that sex workers are not doing it from their free will. ++I also strongly recommend the article--soon to be two--in the New York Review of Books about President Obama interviewing Marilynne Robinson, author of Gilead,on politics and the Christian faith. The Daily Beast has their own interview with Robinson about the conversations she has had with President Obama. Marilynne Robinson said he was the most "idealistic" man she has ever met and would be a terrific theologian. In the New York Review Of Books, I sided with Robinson's rather bleak,protestant view of the nature of humankind while President Obama came across as too trusting and wishing for the good despite evidence to the contrary. Terrific reads. ++And yes, we will sorely miss President Obama when he goes. An amazing intellect.

Friday, October 23, 2015

++Rachel Maddow managed to get the first interview with Hillary Clinton after her Benghazi interview. She said she had never interviewed anyone named Clinton--even George Clinton. FYI: I have interviewed George Clinton of Funkadelic fame.++Maddow had superb questions but more importantly allowed Hillary Clinton to elaborate her thoughts. She raised questions about Bill Clinton's horrendous policies of three strikes your out,Don't Ask,Don't Tell and Doma. Hillary Clinton explained that Bill was trying to shield off these issues from more drastic propositions which were gaining strength at the time. Hillary's answer was completely plausible.++Rachel raised the question about whether we will see the creepy Clinton people like Sid Blumenthal, Lanny Davis, and Mark Penn around in a Clinton administration. She didn't directly answer the question but asserted that she had new people and she would accept the old and the new. She said she was sensitive to how they excessively defended both her and her husband.++She went the high road on the Benghazi hearing talking about how we need to know how to improve the security of our missions but admitted the new Benghazi committee falls short. She defended Libya and even still argues that Libya is trying to be more democratic and she would help. ++Her answer on Syria raised the specter of federalization, which ironically is being proposed by Putin now and she supported a No Fly Zone in Syria, which some of the Republicans support. But she actually had real reasons about what such a proposal is meant to achieve.++Hillary Clinton emphasized that she wanted to build on the progress achieved by Barack Obama and vigorously defended him even when Rachel said he was "naive" in believing he could work with Republicans.++She also said that we can't grow weary in struggling against the GOP's attempt to eliminate Social Security and Medicare or a woman's right to choose. She said that this year's election would be about basic freedoms, including the Right to Vote. She said she expected a vigorous debate because all Republicans are on the record on these issues.++Hillary Clinton came off totally relaxed and not on guard, which is the major criticism of her personally. She handled the questions with ease and was throughly capable of answering them from a policy point of view.++I thought Rachel Maddow did a superb job because we got a sense of Hillary Clinton and her concerns. If you didn't see it,please go to Rachel Maddow's website. It's worth a look.

++A block away from the bank,I heard a woman's voice talk about when President Obama asked her to be Secretary of State. The Voice could be heard above the trees. "Before we talked about the job, he said,'I have to tell you things are far worse than we've been told." She was referring to the economy. She went on to say how everyone got down to work to bring the country out of the worst times since the Depression. ++It was Hillary Clinton at full voice after she endured and triumphed after 11 hours at the Benghazi hearing. ++She was making a campaign stop here in Old Town in front of City Hall. She filled the market square. Passers-bys walked by and the Secret Service was out in force. ++She thanked the military families in the audience and seemed to morph into Joe Biden with a pep talk on the middle class and Bernie Sanders on what reforms she wants to make. "We have to build on the progress President Obama has made and not let the Republicans drag us backwards."++Not a great stump speaker but a solid one. It was mazing how long she could speak after yesterday's ordeal.++Then consider she had to appear on Rachel Maddow. An amazing week for her campaign.

++Lincoln Chafee drops out of the Democratic race just as I got his last name right. So we have had Biden refuse to run,Webb and Chafee drop out. ++Personally I would like Martin O'Malley to hold on a bit longer to see whether he can get the audience he deserves.

++GOP House members were sounded afterwards saying Hillary Clinton was formidable. Her stamina alone awed her opponents. She didn't waver,she didn't contradict earlier testimony and she didn't give them the screenshot they needed. Early conservative reaction was widely negative about the committee having Hillary on for such a prolonged period and in public. ++The committee has been living off of leaks from private testimony from Clinton aides and seem to go to town on Sydney Blumenthal. This just fed the conservative base but the grand finale wasn't to be.++The Committee tried to get Hillary to distance herself from Obama and she refused,insisting that President Obama made the decisions and she thought them correct. She evoked concern for the slain and mentioned she knew the ambassador. She defended the Review Board and the security personnel at the State Department. And she didn't even diss the Blue Mountain militia which failed to defend the Benghazi consulate. She scored in noting that the security funds approved by the House were inadequate. ++As one conservative pundit sighed,"She passed the test."++Can you imagine any senior American statesman or even woman being subjected to 11 hours of this? ++Now why we shouldn't be furious about the antics of the committee escapes me. Did we have the W people under oath for 9/11? Remember W. and Cheney won't go under oath even before the 9/11 Committee. Did we investigate the 13-16 consulate attacks under W? ++The GOP clearly thought Benghazi was last election's October surprise. They now think it's their ticket to win 2016. Today I think they were sadly disappointed. ++One scary thought--what would Bill and Hillary Clinton be like at a private dinner? Waves of wonkdom breaking over your head.

++Carl Bernstein "You Saw President Hillary Clinton there."++Went out for a late dinner and the #Benghazi! freakshow was still on when I entered and later left the restaurant.++I'll have more tomorrow. I didn't see the great gotcha moment the GOP needed for campaign commercials. The questioning was meant for them. But she was composed,very articulate,extremely bright throughout. She at least had one of her good laughs when she was asked ," Whether she was alone all night at home."++You can choose whether Bernie Sanders' filibuster was better than Hillary on # Benghazi! but I would have to say her performance was winning and put the GOP in the dumpster,

++With the third Intifada underway,blaming a Palestinian for persuading Hitler to exterminate the Jews is a bit provocative. Make no mistake the Mufti was an ally of the Nazis and anti-semitic as all get out but history teaches us that Hitler himself devised the plans for the Holocaust with his Nazi advisers. He didn't need the Mufti.

++The MassInc Group polling for WMUR in New Hampshire has Hillary Clinton regaining the lead over Bernie Sanders by 38% to 34%. Biden's support has dropped to 9%.++In Wisconsin,the Wisconsin Survey predicts Hillary at 37% and Sanders at 32%.

++The Donald got more fine-tuned in his critique of W about 9/11 and its aftermath. I was struck by the Donald mentioning that George Tenet had warned W about the attacks and his statement that the Iraq War had nothing to do with 9/11 or WMDs. The Donald even went into the FBI-CIA conflict at that time. In my opinion, it is about time the GOP cope with his.++Meanwhile JEB! claims that Clinton went after bin Laden wrong and that Clinton was responsible for the recession. Notice he didn't mention which recession. Apologists for W always suggest 9/11 happened just as W took office--obviously not true but repeated enough people believe it. No mention is ever made that Richard Bruce Cheney was the head of the terrorism task force and told CIA deputy director Dick Morell that Bin Laden was bluffing.++This all seems like getting into the weeds but 9/11 and its aftermath has defined 21st Century America. It seems that JEB! general election campaign will be for another term for W and will be waged against Bill Clinton. The trouble with that is that Bill Clinton is around to defend himself and can articulate a rebuttal. The other strange aspect is that Bill Clinton is now one of the most respected former Presidents having overcome the late 90s scandals. JEB! wants to run against a male, not Hillary Clinton.

++It was refreshing to watch the CBC coverage of the Canadian elections. Maybe it was because the network had less razzle-dazzle and more substantive analysis of each parliamentary district.++The first take-away for Americans is that Canada will probably be a partner at the December Paris conference on global change. Harper had opposed a new global climate change agreement because of the stake of the Conservative Party in the tar sands region.++From an electoral point of view, this was Canada's longest campaign--all of 72 days--and the average voter was already sick of it. ++I'm more NDP than Liberal but it was striking that the voter actually cast votes strategically to ensure that Harper was ousted. He made the election about himself and the nation responded--negatively.++He could have campaigned on his policies of getting Canada through the worst of the global economic crash but did not. Instead he was divisive and nasty.++The Liberals embraced a strategy of getting non-voters to the polls and focused on new Canadians,the young and the lower class. The strategy worked and produced one of the most diverse parliaments. In British Colombia,once the NDP stronghold,the Liberals actively organized the Indian community in all its variations and won. ++Harper ran against Trudeauism his whole life. But Canadians saw Justin as different, He polled different strengths--hard-working,finding the best people,a better vision of the country, not so much for smarts. Justin started out the campaign in third-place and chose a brilliant campaign team. And it became a Change campaign. According to Canadians,Justin produced a greater victory than his father's in 1968.++The lessons for Democrats are mobilize the Obama coalition and pay great attention on getting out the vote. Trudeau produced Canada's version of Obama's brilliant 2008 campaign. ++From the early polls, it was true now as it is then--your vote matters. I thought the most interesting thing was that Canadians voted strategically--they wanted Harper out and could only be confident of that is they went Liberal and not NDP. They wanted a majority ,not a minority government. And they got it.++The tipping point was John Oliver's message to vote Harper out. Will he be fined $5,000 and faced six months in jail?

++As to prevent #Benghazi! from becoming another 1990s Clinton scandal, the Democrats on the Benghazi Committee released their own file, which documents the answers witnesses have given about Hillary Clinton's (non)-involvement.++It is posted at Democraticunderground and is a must read. There was no stand down order given by anyone to not protect the personnel and the old canard about others willing to fly in a plane to rescue the ambassador and the others is put to rest. And,sadly for my opinion, the CIA was not collecting arms to ship to the Syrian rebels. This was Rand Paul's charge.++In fact there is little more to learn about the tragedy. The Gowdy committee is foolishness. But Hillary has to wipe them out herself on Thursday. She has to refute all accusations in the way she debated. It's doubtful that the issue for Republicans will fade away but she has to drive the nail into the coffin herself.++Jeb was on the trail trying to contrast his brother with Hillary's behavior on the Benghazi incident. This is like trying to get another bite at the apple since Benghazi was the 2012 October Surprise that failed to bring Romney to the White House. The target has moved from Obama to Hillary Clinton. This time it still is likely to fail. ++JEB!'s new slogan is "One Last Tower."

About Me

Bruce McColm was the former executive director of Freedom House, a human rights group in New York,the President of the International Republican Institute and currently is the President of the Institute for Democratic Strategies. In the pre-digital age, his writings appeared in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek and other magazines and journals. This blog is intended to re-create for him the early days when he was a free-lance writer expecting to cover subjects ranging from politics to art.